The Gathering

By: Anne Enright

Narrated by: Terry Donnelly

Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Man Booker Prize, Fiction, 2007

Regarded as one of her country's foremost voices, Irish author Anne Enright makes a fresh mark on a rich literary tradition. The Gathering is a deeply insightful family saga, steeped in secrets and intrigue, unfolding over three generations.

©2007 Ann Enright (P)2008 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Enright's hypnotic prose turns...desperation into something fierce and beautiful." ( Booklist)
"A melancholic love and rage bubbles just beneath the surface of this Dublin clan, and Enright explores it unflinchingly." ( Publishers Weekly)

Get Out the Razor Blades

This book is so unrelentingly dreary that I can't find one good thing to say about it. Not one character had any appeal to me. I am so sick of reading about drunks and their devestating effects on children. I can't imagine how this book won any prize whatsoever. The only good thing I can say is that the reader successfully intoned, in a monotonic haze of despair, both the tone and content of this book. I hated it so much, it makes me mad.

Don’t read

Should have listened to the reviews.

Depressing. Like reading the news papers. Narrator was good at her job, but I wish I had never read/listened to this book.

How could you do this to such a great book?

Would you try another book from Anne Enright and/or Terry Donnelly?

Anne Enright is a masterful, funny, nuanced, sly writer who sees what most others miss: the fine details, the incredible range of human emotion. Fabulous book to read with gorgeous language and a somewhat flawed structure. But stellar for the language alone. To listen? This recording kills the story right out of the gate. If I were the author I'd be dismayed. Terry Donnelly rings one note throughout: rage. It sounds like one long rageful rant, in fact, making it unlistenable. There's incredible tension in the book itself, but it comes not from rage but an extraordinary range of emotion. The reader missed it all. The character would have a right to be this enraged throughout, but she feels many things: from amusement and delight to sadness and grief--with humor! As it turns out, the reader missed all this leaving no room for discovery. And rendering this unlistenable. Who wants to listen to someone rage for many hours in a row? (Who wants to listen to someone rage unless it's righteously earned? And even then, for how long?) Enright didn't write an angry diatribe, though you wouldn't know it from trying to listen to this.

What did you like best about this story?

The book itself.

What didn’t you like about Terry Donnelly’s performance?

I'm sorry to be so dismissive here, but Terry Donnelly missed the point entirely and ruins access to a noteworthy story. There is nothing nuanced in her read.

Any additional comments?

Was there anyone directing the reader? Anne Enright was a radio journalist in the past. Did she hear how this was read before it was released? Did she get any say in the matter?

Hard to listen to

I stopped listening at chapter 6. The story is disconnected and hard to follow. The narrator switches from one era to the next without ever getting g to the point. The characters are not well developed so I found myself not really caring about the story.

Very depressing

I’m not sure what the point of this story was. I did not like the narrator of the story. Depressed, seems to see the worst in everything. I would not have finished the book if I wasn’t reading it for my Book Club. Difficult to understand how this could win any awards.

Powerful. Beautifully read. And sung.

If Anne Enright were an artist who would she be? Edward Hopper? Heironymus Bosch? Answer: Both.

Do Not Judge This Book Until You Are Far Along

The Gathering, by Anne Enright is a masterpiece. But I would not have said that until I got to about two-thirds through the novel. From that point onward I was in awe of its genius. It weaves together its different plot strands with an incredibly deft touch and piercing insights. The narrator, Veronica, is cynical and scathing at times, but she also is full of tenderness and compassion, as well as wit, a sense of irony, and, at times, well-earned humor. Some fine modern novels have relatively weaker endings, but it is the opposite with The Gathering, whose ending cascades over us over numerous beautiful, painful, and uplifting chapters.

Much ado about nothing

The reader was very good. The book was not. The author failed to make me care about the protagonist and so by the end I was just tired of it all. Tiresome. That’s the word for this book. Tiresome.

Not For Everyone

This book has received a lot of negative ratings. I agree it is not a book for everyone's tastes. It's not an easy listen, but the narration is perfect. I loved the book. I felt like I was inside Veronica's confused and guilt-ridden head... experiencing all the twists and turns that happen when trying to make sense of things after a tragedy, on top of a lifetime of hurt. I will go back and listen again.

Make that a negative star

This book is dreadful. When you're 6 hours into it and you don't care what happens to the characters, there's a problem. The narrator reads at an incredibly slow pace. I just want to get the sound of it out of my ears. This book needs to go on a list called "Waste of a Credit."